Systems and methods for assigning damage caused by an insurance-related event

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems for assigning damage to a property to causes of loss are provided. A smart home controller and/or an insurance provider remote processor (or server) may generate a time sequence of events for damage associated with an insure-related event. The time-sequence of events may be analyzed to identify causes of loss associated with damage to the property. The smart home controller or insurance provider remote processor may further analyze the time-sequence of event to determine a portion of the overall damage associated with each cause of loss. Subsequently, according to certain aspects, the smart home controller or insurance provider remote processor may automatically generate a prepopulated insurance claim for damage associated with the insurance-related event, and/or transmit the automatically prepared insurance claim to an insured for their review, approval, and/or modification, such as via wireless communication to a mobile device associated with the insured.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, and claims the benefit of thefiling date of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/734,814, entitled“SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ASSIGNING DAMAGE CAUSED BY AN INSURANCE-RELATEDEVENT” and filed May 2, 2022, which claims the benefit of the filingdate of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/197,536, entitled “SYSTEMSAND METHODS FOR ASSIGNING DAMAGE CAUSED BY AN INSURANCE-RELATED EVENT”and filed Nov. 21, 2018, which claims the benefit of the filing date ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/693,039, entitled “SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR ASSIGNING DAMAGE CAUSED BY AN INSURANCE-RELATED EVENT” andfiled Apr. 22, 2015, which claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 61/984,541 (filed Apr. 25, 2014,and entitled “HOME INSURANCE AND THE PREVENTION, DETECTION, ANDMITIGATION OF HOUSEHOLD DAMAGE”); 62/012,008 (filed Jun. 13, 2014, andentitled “HOME INSURANCE AND THE PREVENTION, DETECTION, AND MITIGATIONOF HOUSEHOLD DAMAGE”); 62/061,000 (filed Oct. 7, 2014, and entitled“SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR AUTOMATICALLY MITIGATING RISK OF PROPERTYDAMAGE”); 62/061,003 (filed Oct. 7, 2014, and entitled “SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR HOMEOWNER-DIRECTED RISK OF PROPERTY DAMAGE MITIGATION”);62/061,018 (filed Oct. 7, 2014, and entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORDETERMINING CAUSE OF LOSS TO A PROPERTY”); 62/061,016 (filed Oct. 7,2014, and entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PREDICTIVELY GENERATING ANINSURANCE CLAIM”); 62/061,012 (filed Oct. 7, 2014, and entitled “SYSTEMSAND METHODS FOR ASSIGNING DAMAGE CAUSED BY AN INSURANCE-RELATED EVENT”);62/061,009 (filed Oct. 7, 2014, and entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORCOMMUNITY-BASED CAUSE OF LOSS DETERMINATION”); 62/060,777 (filed Oct. 7,2014, and entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MANAGING INSURANCEASSOCIATED WITH DEVICES POPULATED WITHIN A PROPERTY”); 62/061,007 (filedOct. 7, 2014, and entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR AUTOMATICALLYMITIGATING RISK OF WATER DAMAGE”); 62/060,808 (filed Oct. 7, 2014, andentitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MANAGING INSURANCE BASED ON DEVICELOCATION WITHIN A PROPERTY”); 62/060,847 (filed Oct. 7, 2014, andentitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MANAGING INSURANCE FOR DEVICES LOCATEDWITHIN A PROPERTY BASED ON INSURANCE-RELATED EVENTS”); and 62/073,695(filed Oct. 31, 2014, and entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MANAGING THEOPERATION OF DEVICES WITHIN A PROPERTY”)—which are all herebyincorporated by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to assigning damage todifferent causes of loss associated with an insurance-related event and,more particularly, to systems and methods for analyzing data transmittedby a plurality of smart devices to assign the damage.

BACKGROUND

Homeowner and personal property insurance exists to provide financialprotection against damage to the home and personal property owner by thepolicyholder, respectively. These insurance products may providedifferent levels of coverage depending on the source of damage. Forinstance, some insurance products may fully cover wind damage but onlyallows the insured to recover half the loss for water damage. After aninsurance-related event causes damage, it may be difficult, usinghindsight, to determine the actual source of the damage. As an example,in some insurance-related events, a window may be broken due to anunknown cause, such as by either violent winds or debris in the winds,or by a water swell.

SUMMARY

The present embodiments may, inter alia, relate to interconnected orsmart homes. The interconnected or smart homes may have a smart homecontroller and/or smart devices interconnected (or in wired or wirelesscommunication) with the smart home controller for gathering data. Thedata gathered may be analyzed by the smart home controller or a remoteprocessor associated with an insurance provider to determine the actualcause of loss (such as water, wind, fire, hail, or other causes)associated with an insurance-related event. After which, insurancepolicies or claims may be adjusted or handled by the insurance providerremote processor based upon the analysis of the data gathered.

In one aspect, a computer-implemented method of determining a cause ofdamage to a property may be provided. The property may be populated witha controller in communication with a plurality of devices in theproperty. Each of the plurality of devices may be configured to monitorvarious conditions associated with the property. The method may include(1) generating, by one or more processors (such as one or more local orremote processors associated with a smart home controller and/or aninsurance provider, respectively), a time-sequence of events for aninsurance-related event based upon data recorded by the plurality ofdevices before, during, and/or after the insurance-related event, and/or(2) identifying from the time-sequence of events, by the one or moreprocessors, a first cause of loss and a second cause of loss associatedwith the insurance-related event. The method may include (3) analyzing,by the one or more processors, the recorded data to estimate an overallamount of damage caused by the insurance-related event, and/or (4) basedupon the time-sequence of events, assigning, by the one or moreprocessors, (i) a first portion of the overall amount of damage to thefirst cause of loss, and (ii) a second portion of the overall amount ofdamage to the second cause of loss. The method may also include (5)generating, by the one or more processors, a proposed insurance claimbased upon the assignment of loss, and/or (6) transmitting, by the oneor more processors, the proposed insurance claim to a mobile device (orother computer or communications device) of an insured for review,approval, or modification by the individual, such as via wirelesscommunication. The method may include additional, fewer, or alternateactions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

In another aspect, a system for determining a cause of damage to aproperty may be provided. The property may be populated with acontroller in communication with a plurality of devices in the property.Each of the plurality of devices may be configured to monitor variousconditions associated with the property. The system may include acommunication module adapted to communicate data, a memory adapted tostore non-transitory computer executable instructions, and/or one ormore processors adapted to interface with the communication module. Theone or more processors may be configured to execute the non-transitorycomputer executable instructions to cause the one or more processors to(1) generate, by the one or more processors, a time-sequence of eventsfor an insurance-related event based upon data recorded by the pluralityof devices before, during, and/or after the insurance-related event,and/or (2) identify from the time-sequence of events, by the one or moreprocessors, a first cause of loss and a second cause of loss associatedwith the insurance-related event. The one or more processors may beconfigured to (3) analyze, by the one or more processors, the recordeddata to estimate an overall amount of damage caused by theinsurance-related event, and/or (4) based upon the time-sequence ofevents, assign, by the one or more processors, (i) a first portion ofthe overall amount of damage to the first cause of loss and (ii) asecond portion of the overall amount of damage to the second cause ofloss. The one or more processors may also be configured to (5) generatea proposed insurance claim based upon the assignment of loss, and/ortransmit the proposed insurance to a mobile device (or other computingor communications device) or an insured for review, approval, and/ormodification by the individual. The system may include additional,fewer, or alternate components, including those discussed elsewhereherein.

In still another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium storing processor-executable instructions may be provided. Whenexecuted, the instructions may cause one or more processors to (1)generate, by the one or more processors, a time-sequence of events foran insurance-related event based upon data recorded by the plurality ofdevices before, during, and/or after the insurance-related event, and/or(2) identify from the time-sequence of events, by the one or moreprocessors, a first cause of loss and a second cause of loss associatedwith the insurance-related event. The instructions may cause the one ormore processors to (3) analyze, by the one or more processors, therecorded data to estimate an overall amount of damage caused by theinsurance-related event, and/or (4) based upon the time-sequence ofevents, assign, by the one or more processors, (i) a first portion ofthe overall amount of damage to the first cause of loss and (ii) asecond portion of the overall amount of damage to the second cause ofloss. The instructions may also cause the one or more processors to (5)generate, by the one or more processors, a proposed insurance claimbased upon the assignment of loss, and/or (6) transmit, by the one ormore processors, the proposed insurance claim to a mobile device (orother computing or communications device) of an insured for review,approval, and/or modification by the individual. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium may store additional, fewer, oralternate processor-executable instructions, including those discussedelsewhere herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The figures described below depict various aspects of the system andmethods disclosed herein. It should be understood that each figuredepicts an embodiment of a particular aspect of the disclosed system andmethods, and that each of the figures is intended to accord with apossible embodiment thereof. Further, wherever possible, the followingdescription refers to the reference numerals included in the followingfigures, in which features depicted in multiple figures are designatedwith consistent reference numerals.

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary environment including components andentities associated with determining the cause(s) of loss associatedwith an insurance-related event in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary diagram associated with determining a causeof loss for an insurance-related event and filing an insurance claim forthe loss in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary flow diagram associated with a smart homecontroller determining a sequence of events associated with aninsurance-related event in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary flow diagram associated with a smart homecontroller determining an amount of damage caused by a first and secondcause of loss associated with an insurance event in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary flow diagram associated with a smart homecontroller predicting that an insurance claim will be filed in responseto an insurance event in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary flow diagram associated with a smart homecontroller determining a cause of loss associated with an insuranceevent for a property based upon data collected on other properties inthe same community in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary interface, displayable by an electronicdevice, for alerting a homeowner about a loss that occurred to aproperty in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 8 depicts an exemplary interface, displayable by an electronicdevice, for accepting or modifying a proposed insurance claim inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an exemplary smart home controller inaccordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present embodiments may relate to, inter alia, the determining acause of damage to a property (such as an interconnected or smart home),and/or a sequence of events that caused damage to the property. Thedamage may be caused by water, fire, hail, wind, and/or other sources.The present embodiments may also relate to (a) providing and updatinginsurance policies; (b) handling or adjusting of home insurance claims;(c) disbursement of monies related to insurance claims; (d) providingdiscounts on insurance; (e) reward programs; (f) providing insurancecoverage or equipment recommendations; and/or (g) otherinsurance-related activities.

A property may have a “smart” central controller (referred to as a“smart home controller” herein) and be wirelessly interconnected, oreven hard-wired, with various household related items and/or sensors.Despite being referred to as the “smart home controller,” the controllermay be associated with any type of property, such as offices,restaurants, farms, and/or other types of properties. The smart homecontroller may be in communication with various smart appliances (e.g.,clothes washer, dryer, dish washer, refrigerator, etc.); smart heatingdevices (e.g., furnace, space heaters, etc.); smart cooling devices(e.g., air conditioning units, fans, ceiling fans, etc.); smart plumbingfixtures (e.g., toilets, showers, water heaters, piping, interior andyard sprinklers, etc.); smart cooking devices (e.g., stoves, ovens,grills, microwaves, etc.); smart wiring, lighting, and lamps; smartpersonal vehicles; smart thermostats; smart windows, doors, or garagedoors; smart window blinds or shutters; and/or other smart devicesand/or sensors capable of wireless or wired communication. Each smartdevice (or smart sensor), as well as the smart home controller, may beequipped with a processor, memory unit, software applications, wirelesstransceiver (or otherwise be configured for RF (Radio Frequency)wireless communication), local power supply, various types of sensors,and/or other components. In some embodiments, the smart home controllermay be in a weather protective “black box” to prevent damage to the datastored by the smart home controller.

The smart home controller may also be interconnected with smart securitydevices including video cameras, other devices capable of recordingvisual data, and/or mobile devices (such as smart phones, smart watches,smart glasses, smart cameras or video cameras, wearable electronics,etc.), microphones capable of recording audio data, and/or othersecurity devices (such as motion sensors, window shatter sensors, doorsensors, etc.). The digital pictures may additionally or alternativelybe recorded by infrared or night-vision cameras. The recorded visual,audio, and/or other data associated with the property and personalbelongings disposed on, or proximate to, the property may be recordedbefore, during, and/or after an insurance-related event, such as anevent causing water, hail, wind, fire, earthquake, and/or other types ofdamage to the property or personal belongings.

The information gathered by the smart home controller from the varioussmart devices and/or sensors disbursed around the property may beutilized for insurance purposes. The information may be used to processor manage insurance covering the property, personal belongings, personalvehicles, etc. The information gathered by the sensors may be used to:(1) provide insurance or equipment discounts to customers; (2) updatecurrent customer policies and rates based upon smart home functionalityand damage prevention and/or mitigation features; (3) initiate or handleinsurance claims, and/or calculate more accurate claim amounts; (4)facilitate claim amount disbursements or adjustments; (5) develop orenhance a customer rewards program; (6) provide various insurance and/orequipment recommendations (such as recommendations related to energysavings, alternate or green energy, and/or smart home equipment) to theinsured; (7) evaluate how smart home equipment disbursed on the propertywithstood an insurance-related event (8) determine the causes of lossand/or the sequence of events leading to home damage; and/or (9) provideother insurance products or adjustments.

The present methods and systems may also use the data gathered by thesmart home controller within a property to determine the sequence ofevents that led to the loss. Determining the events that led to theproperty damage may be performed for individual properties. The methodsand systems may determine that one source of damage (e.g., water) shouldbe allocated a certain percentage of the loss or property damage, andanother source of damage (e.g., wind) should be allocated anotherpercentage of the loss or property damage.

Additionally or alternatively, determining the cause of loss may beperformed by analyzing any number of properties in a geographic area todetermine the potential cause of loss for a community. As an example,ten homes in the same community that are being monitored may first showthat the window sensors were triggered (such as by, issuing alarms,detecting problems, or transmitting other signals), then door sensorsreported a breach to home integrity, subsequently water sensors went offin the main level of the homes, and ultimately other water sensorssensed damage caused to property in the basements or to the basementsthemselves. By aggregating the sensor data for a community, theinsurance provider may have more confidence in the determined assessmentof any individual property that is a member of the community.

The foregoing set of data or data points may provide a time-stampedsequence of events that may reveal more information to automaticallyfacilitate, by one or more processors, easier determination of theactual cause of loss and/or sequence of damage to a covered property ora plurality of properties within a community. Time-stamped sensor data,alarms, pictures or videos, sound recordings, and/or other indicationsfrom two or more sensors may be compared and/or analyzed together todetermine the sequence of events and/or cause(s) of loss. The smart homecapabilities of the present embodiments may include additional, fewer,or alternate capabilities, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

The systems and methods discussed herein address a challenge that isparticular to insurance claim generation. In particular, the challengerelates to a lack of insurance provider ability to accurately determinea sequence of events as part of an insurance-related event that damageda property. This is particularly apparent when there are multiplepotential causes of damage to a property. For example, hindsightanalysis conducted by a claims adjuster may struggle to differentiatebetween potential sequences of events that may have resulted in theproperty damage. Instead of performing this hindsight analysis, asrequired by conventional insurance claim processing systems, the systemsand methods monitor and record data generated by a plurality of sensorsdisposed on the property both before and during the insurance-relatedevent. In additional implementations, the systems and methods analyzethe data generated from sensors disposed on a plurality of propertieswithin a community to further enhance the accuracy of the sequence ofevent determination. In further additional implementations, theinsurance provider may automatically and/or remotely generate andprovide to a homeowner a proposed insurance claim for damage caused tothe property based upon the determined sequence of events. Therefore,because the systems and methods employ the automatic monitoring andanalysis of electronic sensors disposed on a property to generate aninsurance claim, the systems and methods are necessarily rooted incomputer technology in order to overcome the noted shortcomings thatspecifically arise in the realm of insurance claim generation.

Similarly, the systems and methods provide improvements in a technicalfield, namely, insurance claim generation. Instead of the systems andmethods merely being performed by hardware components using basicfunctions, the systems and methods employ complex steps that go beyondthe mere concept of simply retrieving and combining data using acomputer. In particular, the hardware components compile operation datafrom connected devices, analyze the operation data, determine a sequenceof events that caused damage to a property, analyze the sequence ofevents to assign each cause of loss a proportion of the damage, generatean insurance claim for the damage to the property, communicate thegenerated insurance claim to a homeowner, and/or receive modificationsfrom the user to the generated insurance claims, among otherfunctionalities. Moreover, by analyzing data received from a pluralityof properties, the accuracy of the cause of loss determination modelsmay be improved, causing an improvement to the functioning of theinsurance claim generating computer itself. This combination of elementsimpose meaningful limits in that the operations are applied to improveinsurance claim generation by improving the consolidation and analysisof operation data, and by facilitating and/or enabling the insuranceclaim generation in a meaningful and effective way.

The systems and methods therefore may offer a benefit to an insuranceprovider by enabling insurance claims to be more accurately estimatedand/or more expediently processed as facilitated by the presentembodiments. This increased accuracy and expediency may save theinsurance provider money that was wasted on covering damage that wasout-of-policy or time spent dispatching claims adjusters to the affectedproperty. As such, the savings may be passed onto customers in the formof offering cheaper insurance products or through the creation of newinsurance products better tailored to meet the needs of homeowners.Further, the methods and systems described herein may improve thetechnological fields of insurance, urban planning, disaster relief,building development, and/or others.

I. Exemplary Environment for Determining Cause of Loss

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary environment 100 associated with determiningthe cause of loss associated with a property. Although FIG. 1 depictscertain entities, components, and devices, it should be appreciated thatadditional or alternate entities and components are envisioned.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 , the environment 100 may include a property105 that contains a smart controller 120 and a plurality of smartdevices 110 that may be each connected to a local communication network115. As shown in FIG. 1 , the plurality of smart devices may include asmart door 110 a, a smart surveillance camera 110 b, a smart microphone110 c, and/or a smart motion sensor 110 d. Although FIG. 1 depicts onlyone property 105, it should be appreciated that the environment 100 maycontain a plurality of properties, each with its own smart homecontroller and plurality of smart devices. In such embodiments, thesmart home controller 120 associated with the property 105 may be incommunication with other smart home controllers associated with otherproperties via the remote network 125. Further, it should be appreciatedthat additional, fewer, or alternative smart devices may be present inthe property 105. In some cases, the smart devices may be purchased fromthe manufacturer with the “smart” functionally incorporated therein. Inother cases, the smart devices may have been purchased as “dumb” devicesand subsequently modified to add the “smart” functionality to thedevice. For example, a homeowner may purchase an alarm system thatinstalls sensors on or near a door to detect when a door has been openedand/or unlocked.

The plurality of smart devices 110 may be configured to communicate witha smart home controller 120 via the local communication network 115. Thelocal network 115 may facilitate any type of data communication betweendevices and controllers located on or proximate to the property 105 viaany standard or technology (e.g., Bluetooth®, RFID, X10, UPnP®, IEEE 802including Ethernet, GSM, CDMA, LTE, and/or others). In some embodiments,the plurality of smart devices 110 may transmit, to the smart homecontroller 120 via the local network 115, operational data gathered fromsensors associated with the plurality of smart devices 110. Theoperational data may be audio data, image or video data, or status data.For example, the operational data may indicate that a window has beenshattered; the presence of a person, fire, or water in a room; the soundmade near a smart device; and/or other information pertinent todetermining a cause of damage to the property 105. In some embodiments,the operational data may be associated with a timestamp representing thetime that the operational data was recorded.

In some embodiments, the smart home controller 120 may be coupled to anarchival database 122 that stores past operational data associated withthe plurality of smart devices 110. Although FIG. 1 depicts the archivaldatabase 122 as coupled to the smart home controller 120, it isenvisioned that the archival database 122 may be maintained in the“cloud” such that any element of the environment 100 capable ofcommunicating over either the local network 115 or the remote network125 may directly interact with the archival database 122. In someembodiments, the archival database 122 organizes the past operationaldata according to which individual smart device the data is associated,and/or the room or subsection of the property it was recorded. Thearchival database 122 may further organize the data by when the data wasrecorded with respect to a first time period prior to aninsurance-related event, a second period of time while theinsurance-related event was ongoing, and a third period of time afterthe insurance-related event has concluded.

The smart home controller 120 may analyze the operational data recordedbefore, during and after an insurance-related event to generate asequence of events and estimate a total amount of damage to theproperty. In some embodiments, visual information stored in the archivaldatabase may also be analyzed over time to identify areas of theproperty that are slowly deteriorating and/or in need of repair, such assiding, roofing, windows, doors, and/or other items. The smart homecontroller 120 may further interpret the sequence of events toautomatically generate a proposed insurance claim for damage associatedwith the insurance-related event.

The smart home controller 120 may also be in communication with aerialsensors 150 via the remote network 125. The aerial sensors 150 may be asatellite, a drone, a manned aircraft, a blimp, or any other airbornebased device capable of recording visual data of the property 105 or thecommunity containing the property 105. The smart home controller 120 mayappend the aerial visual data to the locally gathered sensor data toform the operational data as described herein. The remote network 125may facilitate any data communication between the smart home controller120 located on the property 105 and entities or individuals remote tothe property 105 via any standard or technology (e.g., GSM, CDMA, TDMA,WCDMA, LTE, EDGE, OFDM, GPRS, EV-DO, UWB, IEEE 802 including Ethernet,WiMAX, and/or others). In some cases, both the local network 115 and theremote network 125 may utilize the same technology.

The smart home controller 120 may also be in communication with anelectronic device 145 associated with the homeowner 140 via the remotenetwork 125. The electronic device 145 may be a smartphone, a desktopcomputer, a laptop, a tablet, phablet, a smart watch, smart glasses,wearable electronics, smart contact lenses, or other electronic ormobile device. According to some embodiments, the smart home controllermay transmit, via the remote network 125, the proposed insurance claimto the electronic device 145. The proposed insurance claim may containprepopulated fields that indicate a number of causes of loss; the typesof causes of loss (water, wind, etc.) and their respective cause of losscode; a total percentage of damage; the percentage of damage associatedwith each cause of loss; time, date, location of the insurance-relatedevent; and/or other information included in an insurance claim. Inresponse, the homeowner 140 may accept the proposed insurance claim ormake modifications to the proposed insurance claim. The electronicdevice 145 may transmit, via the remote network 125, the accepted ormodified insurance claim back to the smart home controller 120.

The smart home controller 120 may also be in communication with aninsurance provider 130 via the remote network 125. According to presentembodiments, the insurance provider 130 may include one or more hardwareserver(s) 135 configured to facilitate the functionalities describedherein. Although FIG. 1 depicts the insurance provider 130, it should beappreciated that other entities that are impacted by uncertainty inknowing a cause of loss are envisioned. For example, a generalcontractor may aggregate the insurance-risk data across many propertiesto determine which appliances or products provide the best protectionagainst specific causes of loss and deploy the appliances or productsbased upon where causes of loss are most likely to occur. Further,although FIG. 1 depicts the hardware server 135 as part of the insuranceprovider 130, it should be appreciated that the hardware server 135 maybe separate from (and connected to or accessible by) the insuranceprovider 130 or other entity interested in monitoring the data describedherein.

The smart home controller 120 may also transmit to the insuranceprovider 130, via the remote network 125, information about the sequenceof events and/or an accepted or modified insurance claim associated withthe damage caused by the sequence of events. The insurance provider 130may use the received information to identify and facilitate aninsurance-related activity, such as issuing warnings; determining causeof loss (such as described above with respect to the smart homecontroller 120); automatically performing corrective or preventiveactions; and/or updating insurance policies or rates, handling insuranceclaims, recommending replacement equipment, evaluating how currentequipment withstood the insurance-related event, and/or performing otherinsurance-related actions.

In some embodiments, display monitors at the insurance provider 130 maysynchronize and depict the multiple sets of visual data used to confirmthe determined sequence of events represented by the insurance claim.The display enables performing side-by-side comparisons to allow forefficient confirmation of the actual sequence of events, the cause ofdamage or loss, and the severity of the damage or loss, and/or ensuringthe accuracy of the transmitted insurance claim. It should beappreciated that in some embodiments, the insurance provider 130,instead of the smart home controller 120, may analyze the sequence ofevents to automatically generate an insurance claim, transmit thegenerated claim to the homeowner 140, and receive the modificationsand/or acceptance. The exemplary environment 100 may include additional,fewer, or alternate components, including those discussed elsewhereherein.

II. Exemplary Insurance Claim Generation

Referring to FIG. 2 , illustrated is a signal diagram 200 associatedwith determining the cause of loss for a property, and subsequently,performing an insurance-related activity. In particular, FIG. 2 mayinclude a smart device 210 (such as any of the plurality of smartdevices 110 as described with respect to FIG. 1 ), a smart homecontroller 220 (such as the smart home controller 120 as described withrespect to FIG. 1 ), an insurance provider 230 (such as the insuranceprovider 130 as described with respect to FIG. 1 ), and a homeowner 240(such as the homeowner 140 as described with respect to FIG. 1 )associated with an electronic device 245 (such as the electronic device145 as described with respect to FIG. 1 ). In some embodiments, thesmart home controller 220 may be coupled to an archival database thatstores past operational data (such as the archival database 122 asdescribed with respect to FIG. 1 ). Although FIG. 2 depicts the smartdevice 210 as a smart security camera, the smart device 210 may be anysmart device disposed on or proximate to a property. Further, althoughFIG. 2 depicts a single smart device, the smart home controller 220 maybe in (wired or wireless) communication with any number of smart devicesdisposed on or proximate to a property. It should be appreciated thatthe electronic device 245 may be any electronic or mobile device (e.g.,a smartphone, a desktop computer, a laptop, a tablet, a smart watch,smart glasses, wearable electronics, etc.).

The signal diagram 200 may begin when the smart device 210 transmits(250) operational data to the smart home controller 220. The operationaldata may include time-stamped information relevant to determining acause of loss, such as audio data, image or video data, or dataregarding the status of any characteristic of the operation of the smartdevice 210. The smart device 210 may be configured to transmit theoperational data at a regular interval (e.g., every ten seconds) and/orin response to a trigger event (e.g., when the smart device 210 detectsthe presence of water). It should be appreciated the length of theregular interval may vary based upon the type of the smart device 210and/or the operational state of the smart device 210. For example, asmart security camera may transmit visual data twenty four (24) timeseach second, while a smart microphone may transmit audio data 48,000times a second. When the smart home controller 220 receives theoperational data, it may store (252) the data in the archival database.In some embodiments, the data in the archival database may be storedchronologically.

According to some embodiments, the smart home controller 220 may analyze(254) the data stored in the archival database. The analysis may includeanalyzing the data stored in the archival database to establish abaseline model for the smart device 210. The newly received data maythen be compared to the baseline model to determine that aninsurance-related event is predicted to begin or has just begun. Forexample, the smart home controller 220 may detect that a storm isforecasted to impact the property in the near future or that a windowhas been shattered. Subsequently, the smart home controller 220 maystore in the archival database an indication of what theinsurance-related event is and when it was detected. It should beappreciated there are many ways known in the art to associate receiveddata with an event; any description herein is representative of aparticular method and is not limiting. The smart home controller 220 maycreate a segment in the archival database for storing operational dataassociated with the active insurance-related event. In some cases, datareceived and stored within a certain time frame prior to the actual orpredicted commencement of the insurance-related event may be copied intothis active event segment to establish a baseline or “before”representation of the property. After the creation of the active eventsegment in the archival database, when the smart home controller 220receives (256) new operational data, it may be stored (260) in theactive event segment in addition to, or instead of, the normalchronological archive of operational data.

The smart home controller 220 may compare the received data to the“before” data to determine (262) a sequence of events associated withthe insurance-related event. The sequence of events may indicate, forexample, when a window or door was damaged or broken; when water startedcoming into the home and from where; the first cause of loss or homedamage during an insurance-related event, the second cause of loss,etc.; how much each source of damage contributed to specific damageand/or the overall damage; and/or other information. Further, thereceived data may be analyzed to detect that the insurance-related eventhas passed and/or the environment on the property has returned to astable condition. For example, the smart home controller 220 may detectthat the aforementioned storm system has passed or that the water-levelof a flooded basement has remained at a constant level.

Once the smart home controller 220 detects that the insurance-relatedevent has concluded, for another certain time frame, the smart homecontroller 220 may receive (264) and store (266) new operational data inthe active event segment of the archival database to establish an“after” representation of the property. The smart home controller 220may compare the “after” data to the “before” data to asses (268) thedamage to the property associated with the insurance-related event. Forexample, the comparison may analyze visual data to determine that awindow is broken or that water and/or fire has damaged belongingsdisposed on, or within, the property. The smart home controller 220 mayutilize the assessment to determine or calculate an estimate of thetotal amount of damage caused to the property (or belongings disposedon, or within, the property). Once the “after” representation has beenestablished, new operational data may cease being stored in the activeevent segment and resume being stored only in the chronological archive.

According to some embodiments, the smart home controller 220 may furtheranalyze the sequence of events and assessment of damage data to generateand prepopulate (270) a proposed insurance claim for damage associatedwith the insurance-related event. In some embodiments, the smart homecontroller 220 may compare the sequence of events data to damageassessment data determine any causes of loss associated with the damage(to the property and/or belongings disposed on, or within, the property)and a portion of the damage associated with each cause of loss. Forexample, the smart home controller 220 may determine that wind debrisdamaged a roof enabling water to damage belongings on the top floor ofthe property. In that scenario, the smart home controller may assign alarger portion of the damage to the wind-related cause of loss than tothe water-related cause of loss. In other embodiments, the property mayemploy a system that inventories belongings on a property andautomatically detects and reports damage for the belongings whendamaged. Once the total amount of damage is known, the insuranceprovider may further analyze the cause of loss data to determine asource of the damage.

Once the smart home controller 220 has determined the cause(s) of lossand the amount of damage associated with each cause of loss, theinsurance provider may prepopulate corresponding fields on the proposedinsurance claim. For example, a typical insurance claim may have fieldsto detail what was damaged, the value of the item damaged, the source ofthe damage, where the damaged item is located on the property, and/orother fields. After prepopulating the proposed insurance claim, thesmart home controller 220 may transmit (272) the proposed insuranceclaim to the electronic device 245 associated with the homeowner 240.The electronic device 245 may enable the homeowner 240 to accept theinsurance claim as is, or to make modifications to the insurance claim.The electronic device 245 may transmit (274) the accepted or modifiedclaim back to the smart home controller 220.

If the homeowner 240 modified the proposed insurance claim, the smarthome controller 220 may analyze the modifications to ensure that themodifications are consistent with the sequence of events. For example,if a homeowner 240 modified a proposed insurance claim to include damageto a window that the sequence of events depicts as broken prior to thecommencement of the insurance-related event, the smart home controller220 may alert the homeowner 240 that the modified insurance claim is notsupported by the sequence of events and request that the homeownerconfirms the modifications prior to processing. After receiving anaccepted insurance claim or confirming the changes in a modifiedinsurance claim, the smart home controller may transmit (276) theaccepted or modified insurance claim to the insurance provider 230. Insome embodiments, the sequence of events data is transmitted along withthe accepted or modified insurance claim.

The insurance provider 230 may analyze the sequence of events data toperform (278) an insurance-related activity, such as processing theaccepted or modified insurance claim. To facilitate the analysis, thetime-stamped sequence of events data may be displayed on computers,monitors, or other display screens for side-by-side comparison orquadrant comparison. For instance, (a) the video from a first cameralocated on the ground floor of a home, and (b) the video from a secondcamera located on the second floor of the home may be displayed forside-by-side comparison. Alternatively, video from four camerasassociated with the home may be presented in four quadrants of a screenfor more efficient and accurate determination of the actual sequence ofevents and/or cause of loss to the property. Other insurance-relatedactivities may be recommending replacement equipment or providing ananalysis about how well the equipment disposed on, or within, theproperty withstood the insurance-related event. It should be appreciatedthat in some embodiments, the insurance provider 230 may analyze thesequence of events and/or damage assessment data to generate andprepopulate a proposed insurance claim and communicate with thehomeowner 240.

The insurance provider 230, and/or one or more remote processors orservers associated with the insurance provider 230, may perform the samefunctionality and analysis described above with respect to the smarthome controller 220. For instance, the smart devices 210 and/or smarthome controller 220 may be in wireless communication with an insuranceprovider 230 remote processor or server, and transmit data to theinsurance provider 230 for remote analysis of the data by the insuranceprovider 230 remote processor or server, which may determine cause(s) ofloss, generate insurance claims, process insurance claims, and/orperform other actions or analysis.

III. Exemplary Sequence of Events Determination

Referring to FIG. 3 , depicted is a block diagram of an exemplary method300 for determining a sequence of events in which an insurance-relatedevent caused damage to a property. The method 300 may be facilitated bya smart home controller (such as the smart home controller 120 asdepicted in FIG. 1 ) and/or an insurance provider (such as a remoteprocessor or server of the insurance provider 130 as depicted in FIG. 1) in wired or wireless communication with a plurality of smart devices(such as the plurality of smart devices 110 as depicted in FIG. 1 ), anda homeowner (such as the homeowner 140 as depicted in FIG. 1 ).

The method 300 may begin by the smart home controller (and/or aninsurance provider remote processor or server) receiving a first set ofsensor data from the plurality of smart devices (block 302). The firstset of data may include visual data, audio data, and operational statusdata generated from smart cameras taking photographs or video, infraredor motion sensors, wind or water sensors, microphones, speakers, and/orother data collection devices disposed on, or within, the property andcapable of recording data relevant to determining a sequence of events.In some cases, the first set of data may additionally include visualdata captured by an airborne sensor above the property. The datacollected may be time stamped or otherwise associated with a specifictime.

In some cases, an initial part of the first set of data may be analyzedto determine if a particular type of additional supporting data isneeded to determine the sequence of events. For example, the initialpart of the first set of data may consist of a barometer reading or aweather history that indicates a strong storm is imminent. The smarthome controller may determine that aerial data is necessary to properlydetermine the sequence of events relating to strong storm systems. As aresult, the smart home controller may ensure that the first set of dataincludes data captured from the airborne sensor above the property. Itshould be appreciated that the initial part of the first set of data mayhave originated from the airborne sensor above the property itself.

The smart home controller may analyze the first set of sensor data toestablish a baseline for normal operating conditions associated with theproperty (block 304). The baseline may represent the condition of theproperty prior to an insurance-related event damages the property. Forexample, the baseline may indicate that windows or walls are intact, anabsence of water in the basement, or personal property on the propertyis undamaged. Similarly, the baseline may indicate that the property wasdamaged prior to experiencing further damage due to an insurance-relatedevent.

After establishing a baseline for normal operating conditions associatedwith a property, the smart home controller may receive a second set ofsensor data from the plurality of smart devices to detect that aninsurance-related event is occurring (block 306). In some cases, thesecond set of data may be compared to the baseline to detect a varianceindicative of a commencement of an insurance-related event. For example,a wind speed sensor may detect that the average wind speed for a givenamount of time exceeds the normal wind speed experienced on theproperty. Accordingly, the smart home controller may determine that theincreased wind speed is indicative of a wind storm occurring on theproperty. In other cases, the second set of data may contain a statusupdate indicative of the commencement of an insurance-related event. Forexample, a window with shatter sensors may transmit to the smart homecontroller an indication that the window has shattered in response tothe shatter sensors detecting that the window has shattered.

The second set of sensor data may be further compared to the baseline todetect if the property has been damaged due to an insurance-relatedevent (block 308). Returning to the wind storm example, the second setof data may also include an indication that a window has shattered orthat shingles have flown off a roof. The smart home controller maycompare visual data of the window and roof in the second set of data tothe baseline to determine if the window and roof were damaged as aresult of the insurance-related event. Other types of damage that may bedetected include water damage, wind damage, fire damage, earthquakedamage, and damage caused by a breach of structural integrity. Afterdetecting damage to the property, the smart home controller maydetermine a sequence of events that caused the damage (block 310).

The sequence of events may describe how the insurance-related eventdamaged the property. For example, the sequence of events for the windstorm may describe how the property experienced abnormally strong windsand, while the winds were still strong, a window on the propertyshattered. In some cases, the shattered window may lead to the recordingof secondary causes of damage in the second set of data, such as visualdata depicting the winds knocking over a grandfather clock in the roomwith the shattered window.

In one aspect, the smart home controller may generate a proposedinsurance claim for damage caused by the insurance-related event inaccordance with the determined sequence of events (block 312). As partof generating the proposed insurance claim, the smart home controllermay estimate an overall amount of damage the insurance-related eventcaused to the property. To accurately estimate the amount of damagecaused by the insurance-related event, the smart home controller mayreceive a third set of data after the termination of theinsurance-related event or when the environment on the property hasstabilized. The third set of data may be compared to the baseline todetect the full scope of which property was damaged as well as an extentof the property damage. For example, the third set of data may becompared to the baseline to determine that since the baseline wasestablished, a window was shattered and a grandfather clock was broken.The smart home controller may then estimate the cost to repair thebroken window and replace or repair the grandfather clock.

After determining an amount of damage that the insurance-related eventcaused, the smart home controller may prepopulate fields in an insuranceclaim with information related to the insurance-related event, theamount of damage and/or information pertaining to the sequence ofevents. Returning to the wind storm example, the proposed insuranceclaim may contain information that states that high winds shattered thewindow and knocked over the grandfather clock causing $2000 of damageoverall.

Once an insurance claim is generated, the smart home controller maytransmit the proposed insurance claim, via a communication network, toan electronic device associated with the homeowner (block 314). Aninterface on the electronic device may enable the homeowner to approveand/or modify the proposed insurance claim. After the homeowner approvesand/or modifies the proposed insurance claim, the electronic device maytransmit the approved and/or modified insurance claim back to the smarthome controller via the communication network.

The smart home controller may receive the approved and/or modifiedinsurance claim (block 316). In some embodiments, the smart homecontroller may further transmit the approved and/or modified insuranceclaim to an insurance provider associated with the property along withany data received by the smart home controller. The insurance providermay analyze the approved and/or modified insurance claim and recordeddata to process the claim, recommend replacement equipment to protectagainst future insurance-related events, and evaluate how equipmentassociated with the property withstood the insurance-related event.

It should be appreciated that in some embodiments, additionally oralternatively, some or all or the actions associated with blocks 302-316may be performed by the insurance provider and/or one or more remoteprocessors or servers associated with the insurance provider. The method300 may include additional, fewer, or alternate actions, including thosediscussed elsewhere herein.

IV. Exemplary Cause of Loss Determination

Referring to FIG. 4 , depicted is a block diagram of an exemplary method400 for determining causes of loss associated with damage caused by aninsurance-related event. The method 400 may be facilitated by a smarthome controller (such as the smart home controller 120 as depicted inFIG. 1 ) and/or an insurance provider (such as a remote processor orserver of the insurance provider 130 as depicted in FIG. 1 ) in wired orwireless communication with a plurality of smart devices (such as theplurality of smart devices 110 as depicted in FIG. 1 ), and a homeowner(such as the homeowner 140 as depicted in FIG. 1 ).

The method 400 may begin when the smart home controller (and/orinsurance provider remote processor or server) receives data from theplurality of smart devices before, during, and after an occurrence of aninsurance-related event (block 402). The smart home controller mayanalyze the sets of data received before, during, and after theoccurrence of the insurance-related event to generate a sequence ofevents (block 404). The smart home controller may generate the sequenceof events through performing the actions associated with blocks 302-310for the method 300 as described with reference to FIG. 3 .

The smart home controller may analyze the sequence of events todetermine a first and second cause of loss (block 406). For example,during a storm, a tree branch may fall through a roof of the property,leading to rain entering the property through the newly created hole,causing water or flooding damage to property on the top floor. The treebranch falling through the roof may be a first cause of loss and therain/water may be a second cause of loss.

According to present embodiments, the smart home controller may estimatean overall amount of damage to the property (block 408). The sensor datacaptured before, during, and/or after images of the property was damagedmay be used to determine a total amount of damage to the property itselfand/or individual pieces of personal property. For instance, for thetree branch falling through the roof, it may be determined that inaddition to damage to the roof, the tree branch crushed and destroyed adresser located on the top floor of the property. Further, rain waterfrom the hole in the roof may damage electronics (such as a TV or alarmclock) located on the top floor of the property. In instances in whichthe smart home controller determined that a particular type ofadditional supporting data was necessary, the smart home controller mayensure that the particular type of additional supporting data is used todetermine the amount of damage to the property and/or individual piecesof personal property.

In one aspect, the “before” sensor data may be used to assign relativelyaccurate beginning values to personal property disposed on, or within,the property prior to the insurance-related event. The “during” and/or“after” sensor data may be used to assign relatively accurate currentvalues to the same personal property that were disposed on, or within,the property at the time of the insurance-related event and that are nowpartially damaged or completely destroyed. The smart home controller maycalculate a difference in the beginning values and the current values toestimate an overall value for damage caused by the insurance-relatedevent.

The smart home controller may assign a percentage of the overall damageto each of the first and second causes of loss (block 410). To assignthe percentage of damage, the smart home controller may determinewhether the first cause of loss is a primary cause of loss that led to asecondary cause of loss or that the first cause of loss is a secondarycause of loss that occurred as a result of the primary cause of loss.According to embodiments, if the first cause of loss is the primarycause of loss, then the second cause of loss is the secondary cause ofloss. Similarly, if the first cause of loss is the secondary cause ofloss, then the second cause of loss is the primary of loss. Returning tothe falling tree branch example, the tree branch falling through theroof (the first cause of loss) may have led to water damaging toelectronics on the top floor of the property (the second cause of loss).In this example, the falling tree branch is the primary cause of lossand the water damage is the secondary cause of loss.

After determining the primary and secondary causes of loss, the smarthome controller may assign a portion of the overall damage to the firstand second causes of loss. In some embodiments, the primary cause ofloss may be assigned a larger portion of the overall damage than thesecondary cause of loss. Accordingly, the smart home controller mayassign each cause of loss identified, a percentage of the overall amountof damage. For instance, 80% of total damage to the property may beassigned to the tree branch falling through the roof, with the remaining20% of damage being assigned to the subsequent water damage. In someembodiments, the primary cause of loss may be assigned 100% of theoverall damage.

Once the causes of loss have been identified and assigned theirrespective portion of damage, the smart home controller may generate aninsurance claim for damage associated with the insurance-related event(block 412). Based upon the specific policies and/or coverage for thehomeowner, the smart home controller may generate an appropriateproposed insurance claim.

As an example, the homeowner's policy may cover 100% of roof damage and50% of water damage. The smart home controller may determine that theoverall damage to the property is $10,000 and that 80% of the damage isassigned to the falling branch and 20% assigned to the water damage.Accordingly, the generated proposed insurance claim may indicate that atotal $8,000 (10,000*1*0.8) may be recovered for the roof damage and$1,000 (10,000*0.5*0.2) may be recovered for the water damage, thusenabling the homeowner to recover an overall amount of $9,000(8,000+1,000).

Once an insurance claim is generated, the smart home controller maytransmit the proposed insurance claim, via a wired or wirelesscommunication network, to an electronic device associated with thehomeowner (block 414). An interface on the electronic device may enablethe homeowner to approve and/or modify the proposed insurance claim.After the homeowner approves and/or modifies the proposed insuranceclaim, the electronic device may transmit the approved and/or modifiedinsurance claim back to the smart home controller via the communicationnetwork.

The smart home controller may receive the approved and/or modifiedinsurance claim (block 416). In some embodiments, the smart homecontroller may further transmit the approved and/or modified insuranceclaim to an insurance provider associated with the property along withany data received by the smart home controller. The insurance provideror an insurance provider remote processor or server may analyze theapproved and/or modified insurance claim and recorded data to processthe claim, recommend replacement equipment to protect against futureinsurance-related events, and evaluate how equipment associated with theproperty withstood the insurance-related event.

It should be appreciated that in some embodiments, additionally oralternatively, some or all or the actions associated with blocks 402-416may be performed by the insurance provider and/or one or more remoteprocessors or servers associated with the insurance provider. The method400 may include additional, fewer, or alternate actions, including thosediscussed elsewhere herein.

V. Exemplary Methods of Predicting Insurance Claims

Referring to FIG. 5 , depicted is a block diagram of an exemplary method500 for predicting that an insurance claim will be filed andautomatically generating the insurance claim on behalf of the homeowner.The method 500 may be facilitated by a smart home controller (such asthe smart home controller 120 as depicted in FIG. 1 ) and/or aninsurance provider (such as a remote processor or server of theinsurance provider 130 as depicted in FIG. 1 ) in wired or wirelesscommunication with a plurality of smart devices (such as the pluralityof smart devices 110 as depicted in FIG. 1 ), and a homeowner (such asthe homeowner 140 as depicted in FIG. 1 ).

In some cases, the smart home controller (and/or one or more insuranceprovider remote processors or servers) may receive a first set of datafrom the plurality of smart devices. This first set of data may beanalyzed to detect potential insurance-related events and to determinethe likelihood that an insurance claim will be filed in response to thepotential insurance-related event (block 502). In other cases, the smarthome controller may receive an alert from an insurance provider about afuture insurance-related event (e.g., a severe weather alert). Thelikelihood may be determined by predicting the odds that theinsurance-related event will or may cause damage to the property. Forexample, a high likelihood of filing an insurance claim may beassociated with particular types of insurance-related events that arepredicted to impact the property, or insurance-related events that havealready caused damage to nearby properties in the same community. If,for example, the insurance-related event is a storm system, the smarthome controller may be able to receive data indicating the severity ofthe storm system and adjust the likelihood accordingly. In addition tostorm systems, the smart home controller may be configured to detect andanalyze the likelihood that an insurance claim will be filed in responseto a fire or wildfire, an equipment failure, a national or localemergency, an earthquake or aftershock, a tsunami, an oil spill, avolcano eruption, and/or any other potential source of damage to theproperty.

After determining the likelihood that an insurance-related event willgenerate an insurance claim, the smart home controller may compare thelikelihood to a threshold (block 504). In some cases, the threshold maybe a percentage (e.g., 50%) that must be exceeded before the smart homecontroller will begin the steps to automatically generate a proposedinsurance claim. If the determined likelihood is not greater than thethreshold (e.g., the threshold is 70% and the determined likelihood is30%) (“NO”), the smart home controller may return to the beginning ofthe method 400 and continue determining likelihoods of generating aninsurance claim. If the determined likelihood is greater than thethreshold (e.g., the threshold is 60% and the determined likelihood is80%) (“YES”), the smart home controller may create a segment in a memorydedicated to storing sensor data associated with the insurance-relatedevent.

The smart home controller may receive and store sensor data in thesegment before, during and after the occurrence of the insurance-relatedevent (block 506). In some scenarios, data may not be stored in thesegment until a certain time before the insurance-related event isexpected to begin. For example, if the smart home controller receives analert at 7:00 p.m. that an extreme storm is expected in the area at 9:00p.m., the smart home controller may wait until 8:55 p.m. before storingdata in the segment. Similarly, data may cease to be stored in thesegment until after it is determined that the insurance-related eventhas terminated and the environment surrounding the property is stable.

According to some embodiments, the smart home controller may analyze thedata stored in the segment to determine an overall amount of damage tothe property caused by the insurance-related event (block 508). Thesmart home controller may further analyze the data stored in the segmentto determine a first and second cause of loss that contributed to theoverall amount of damage to the property. Each of the first and secondcause of loss may be assigned a percentage of the damage used tocalculate a dollar amount of the overall amount of damage attributed toeach of the first and second cause of loss. In some embodiments, thedata stored in the segment may be analyzed to determine if a primarycause of loss led to damage by a secondary cause of loss. In such cases,the primary cause of loss may be assigned a higher percentage of theoverall damage than the secondary cause of loss. For example, the smarthome controller may determine that a storm caused $40,000 of damage to aproperty. The recorded data may indicate that 75% of the damage was dueto water-related causes and that 25% of the damage was due towind-related causes. In such a scenario, the water-related causes ofloss contributed to $30,000 of the damage to the property and thewind-related causes of loss contributed to $10,000 of the damage to theproperty.

The smart home controller may interpret the amount of damage associatedwith each cause of loss to automatically generate a proposed insuranceclaim for the damage to the property (block 510). The proposed insuranceclaim may be prepopulated with information related to theinsurance-related event and/or information pertaining to the amount ofdamage associated with each of the first and second causes of loss. Theoverall amount claimed in the insurance claim may vary from the overallamount of damage based upon the insurance policy or coverage associatedwith the property and/or homeowner.

Once an insurance claim is generated, the smart home controller maytransmit the proposed insurance claim, via a communication network, toan electronic device associated with the homeowner (block 512). Aninterface on the electronic device may enable the homeowner to approveand/or modify the proposed insurance claim. After the homeowner approvesand/or modifies the proposed insurance claim, the electronic device maytransmit the approved and/or modified insurance claim back to the smarthome controller via the communication network.

The smart home controller may receive the approved and/or modifiedinsurance claim (block 514). In some embodiments, the smart homecontroller may further transmit the approved and/or modified insuranceclaim to an insurance provider associated with the property. Theinsurance provider, or one or more insurance provider remote processorsor servers, may analyze the approved and/or modified insurance claim toprocess the claim, recommend replacement equipment to protect againstfuture insurance-related events, and/or evaluate how equipmentassociated with the property withstood the insurance-related event.

It should be appreciated that in some embodiments, additionally oralternatively, some or all or the actions associated with blocks 502-516may be performed by the insurance provider and/or one or more remoteprocessors or servers associated with the insurance provider. The method500 may include additional, fewer, or alternate actions, including thosediscussed elsewhere herein.

VI. Exemplary Methods of Determining Causes of Loss Based Upon Damage toOther Properties

Referring to FIG. 6 , depicted is a block diagram of an example method600 for determining causes of loss associated with damage to a firstproperty by an insurance-related event based data associated with damageto a second property. The method 600 may be facilitated by a smart homecontroller (such as the smart home controller 120 as depicted in FIG. 1) and/or an insurance provider (such as a remote processor or server ofthe insurance provider 130 as depicted in FIG. 1 ) in wired or wirelesscommunication with a plurality of smart devices (such as the pluralityof smart devices 110 as depicted in FIG. 1 ), and a homeowner (such asthe homeowner 140 as depicted in FIG. 1 ).

The method 600 may begin when the smart home controller (and/or one ormore remote processors or servers associated with an insurance provider)receives data from the plurality of smart devices disposed on, orwithin, a first property before, during, and/or after an occurrence ofan insurance-related event (block 602). The smart home controller mayanalyze the sets of data received before, during, and/or after theoccurrence of the insurance-related event to generate a sequence ofevents associated with the first property (block 604). The smart homecontroller may generate the sequence of events through performing theactions associated with blocks 302-310 for the method 300 as describedwith reference to FIG. 3 .

Additionally, the smart home controller may receive, via a wired orwireless communication network, a sequence of events from a secondproperty associated with damage from the same insurance-related event(block 606). For example, a river near a community may flood causingflooding damage to several properties in the community (or, as anotherexample, a hurricane may cause damage to several waterfront homes orneighborhoods, such as by high winds or gusts, ocean or storm surge,flooding, hail, and/or heavy rain). The smart home controller from eachproperty in the community may generate a sequence of events detailinghow the associated individual property was damaged by theinsurance-related event. The smart home controllers may further transmitthe generated sequence of events to other properties in the communityand receive sequences of events from other properties in thecommunities.

Subsequently, the smart home controller may compare the generatedsequence of events to the received sequences of events from otherproperties in the community (block 608). The smart home controller mayanalyze the sequences of events to determine that the damage caused bythe insurance-related event to the first property is consistent with thedamage to other properties in the community. For example, the sequencesof events may all indicate that when the water level reached a certainheight, the water pressure shattered windows on the ground floor on allnearby properties, enabling the flood waters to flood the basements onall of the properties. The comparison may also detect that the firstproperty properly mitigated the risk of flood damage by closing stormshutters to prevent the flood waters from shattering the windows. Inthat scenario, the comparison of the sequences of events may reveal thatwater failed to enter buildings on the first property but water didenter buildings on the second property.

The smart home controller may analyze the comparison of the sequences ofevents to determine a first and second cause of loss (block 610). Thecomparison may indicate that a similar sequence of events occurred atboth the first property and other properties in the community. Accordingto some scenarios, a determination for a first and second cause of lossmay have already been made at the other properties. If the smart homecontroller associated with the first property determines the same orsimilar first and second causes of loss, the smart home controller mayhave more confidence in the accuracy of the assessment. For example, theother properties in the community may determine that a window shatteringduring the flood may be a first cause of loss, and the subsequentinterior flooding damage may be a second cause of loss. If the smarthome controller associated with the first property determines the samefirst and second causes of loss, it is likely that the smart homecontroller associated with the first property did not err in determiningthe first and second causes of loss.

According to some embodiments, the smart home controller may estimate anoverall amount of damage to the property (block 612). The sensor datacaptured before, during, and/or after the first property was damaged maybe used to determine a total amount of damage to the first propertyitself and/or individual pieces of personal property. For instance, inaddition to shattering the windows on the ground floor, the flooding mayalso have destroyed all personal belongings on the ground floor.

In one aspect, the “before” sensor data may be used to assign relativelyaccurate beginning values to personal property disposed on, or within,the first property prior to the insurance-related event. The “during”and/or “after” sensor data may be used to assign relatively accuratecurrent values to the same personal property that were disposed on, orwithin, the first property at the time of the insurance-related eventand that are now partially damaged or completely destroyed. The smarthome controller may calculate a difference in the beginning values andthe current values to estimate an overall value for damage caused by theinsurance-related event.

The smart home controller may assign a percentage of the overall damageto each of the first and second cause of loss (block 614). To assign thepercentage of damage, the smart home controller may determine whetherthe first cause of loss is a primary cause of loss that led to asecondary cause of loss, or that the first cause of loss is a secondarycause of loss that occurred as a result of the primary cause of loss.According to embodiments, if the first cause of loss is the primarycause of loss, then the second cause of loss is the secondary cause ofloss. Similarly, if the first cause of loss is the secondary cause ofloss, then the second cause of loss is the primary of loss. Returning tothe flood example, the window shattering (the first cause of loss) mayhave led to further flooding, damaging personal property on the groundfloor and basement (the second cause of loss). In this example, thewindow shattering may be the primary cause of loss and the subsequentflooding damage may be the secondary cause of loss.

After determining the primary and secondary causes of loss, the smarthome controller may assign a portion of the overall damage to the firstand second causes of loss. In some embodiments, the primary cause ofloss may be assigned a larger portion of the overall damage than thesecondary cause of loss. Accordingly, the smart home controller mayassign, to each identified cause of loss, a percentage of the overallamount of damage. For instance, 60% of total damage to the firstproperty may be assigned to the window shattering, with the remaining40% of damage being assigned to the subsequent flooding damage. In someembodiments, the primary cause of loss may be assigned 100% of theoverall damage.

Once the causes of loss have been identified and assigned theirrespective portion of damage, the smart home controller may generate aninsurance claim for damage associated with the insurance-related event(block 616). Based upon the specific policies and/or coverage for thehomeowner, the smart home controller may generate an appropriateproposed insurance claim. The smart home controller may further adjustthe amount claimed based upon the comparison of the sequences of events.

As an example, the smart home controller may determine that the majorityof other properties in the community have storm shutters that are closedin anticipation of the flood. The smart home controller may furtherdetermine that the first property also has storm shutters but failed toclose them. As a result, the first property experienced significantlymore damage than similar properties in the community. When generatingthe proposed insurance claim, the overall amount claimed may be reducedby a percentage due to the failure to mitigate damage caused by theflooding in accordance with the norms of the community. For instance, ifthe flooding caused $30,000 of damage, the insurance claim may onlyclaim recovery for 60% ($18,000) of the overall damage.

Once an insurance claim is generated, the smart home controller maytransmit and receive the proposed insurance claim in a manner similar tothe actions performed at blocks 314-316 of the method 300 as describedwith reference to FIG. 3 . It should be appreciated that in someembodiments, additionally or alternatively, some or all or the actionsassociated with blocks 602-616 may be performed by the insuranceprovider and/or one or more remote processors or servers associated withthe insurance provider. The method 600 may include additional, fewer, oralternate actions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

VII. Exemplary User Interfaces

An electronic device (such as a mobile device) may provide an interfacethat enables a homeowner to be alerted when their property is damagedand to receive an automatically generated proposed insurance claim. Theinterface may be provided as part of an application that is executed onthe electronic device or as a website displayable on the electronicdevice.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary interface 700 for including anotification to a homeowner that an insurance-related event has damagedtheir property and, in response, enables the homeowner to file aninsurance claim for the damage. As illustrated in FIG. 7 , the interface700 may provide an indication of an alert (e.g., a warning symbol) and adescription of the damage to the property (“Your basement is flooded!”).The interface 700 may also provide soft buttons 710 and 720 that enablethe homeowner to file an insurance claim or dismiss the notification,respectively.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary interface 800 depicting a prepopulatedproposed insurance claim as discussed elsewhere herein. The electronicdevice may present the interface 800 to the homeowner in response toreceiving an indication that the homeowner wants to file an insuranceclaim (such as by selecting the soft button 710 as illustrated in FIG. 7). According to present embodiments, the interface 800 may includeprepopulated fields indicating the homeowner's name 802 (“John Doe”),insurance account number 804 (“A102XYZ”), date of the claim 806 (“Jan.1”), description of the cause of loss 808 (“Water entered basement viabroken window”), list of damaged goods and the amount of damage 810(“Couch—$800, TV—$1200, Treadmill—$5000”), a damage breakdown indicatingthe percentage of damage associated with each cause of loss 812 (“80%water, 20% wind”), and an overall claim amount 814 (“$7000”).

Interface 800 may also provide soft buttons 820 and 830 that enable thehomeowner to accept the proposed insurance claim as is, or to makemodifications to the proposed insurance claim, respectively. In responseto the homeowner selecting soft button 820, the electronic device maytransmit the accepted insurance claim to the smart home controller. Inresponse to the homeowner selecting soft button 830, the electronicdevice may provide another interface that allows the homeowner to modifyany of the displayed fields 802-814 and/or append other information tothe insurance claim.

It should be appreciated that fields 802-814 are representative offields included in an insurance claim, in some embodiments, additional,fewer, or alternative fields may exist. Also, the exemplary userinterfaces may include additional, less, or alternate functionality,including that discussed elsewhere herein.

VIII. Exemplary Methods of Identifying Causes of Loss

In one aspect, a computer-implemented method of generating or adjustingan insurance claim may be provided. The method may include: (1)creating, via one or more processors and/or a remote server (such asprocessor(s) associated with a smart home controller and/or a homeowner,or remote processor(s) or remote server associated with an insuranceprovider), a time-sequence of events from visual and/or audio recordingsacquired before, during, and/or after an insurance-related event thatcaused damage to a property; (2) identifying, via the processor(s)and/or remote server, two or more causes of loss from the time-sequenceof events created from the visual and/or audio recordings acquiredbefore, during, and/or after the insurance-related event; (3)estimating, via the processor(s) and/or remote server, a total amount ofdamage to the property caused by the insurance-related event; (4)assigning, via the processor(s) and/or remote server, (i) a percentageof the total amount of damage to the property caused by theinsurance-related event to each individual cause of loss, and/or (ii) anamount of damage to the property caused by the insurance-related eventto each individual cause of loss; (5) adjusting and/or generating aproposed insurance claim, via the processor(s) and/or remote server,based upon the percentage or amount of damage to the property assignedto each individual cause of loss; (6) remotely directing and/orcontrolling the presentation of (via the processor(s) and/or remoteserver), or otherwise presenting, the proposed insurance claim on amobile device, computer, or other display for review, approval, and/ormodification by a homeowner; and/or (7) receiving and/or accepting (viathe processor(s) and/or remote server) an approved and/or modifiedinsurance claim from the homeowner for processing/handling by aninsurance provider (via a wireless communication or data transmissionsent from the homeowner's mobile device to the processor(s) and/orremote server). The method may include additional, fewer, or alternateactions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

In one embodiment, the first cause of loss may be water damage (e.g.,damage caused by rain, waves, surge, flooding, running or flowing water,etc.) and a second cause of loss may be wind damage. For example, if thefirst cause of loss is water damage, the first cause of loss may lead toa second cause of loss during a weather event, wherein the second causeof loss is wind damage. Alternatively, if the first cause of loss iswind damage, and the first cause of loss may lead to a second cause ofloss during the weather event, wherein the second cause of loss is waterdamage.

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method of generating and/oradjusting an insurance claim may be provided. The method may include:(1) automatically determining (via one or more processors and/or aremote server associated with a smart home controller, or one or moreremote processors or a remote server associated with an insuranceprovider), based upon weather-related information, that there is alikelihood of, an insurance claim (e.g., home, personal property, auto,vehicle, boat, and/or renters insurance) due to a weather-related event;(2) remotely receiving, collecting, and/or capturing images of aninsurance-related event during the weather-related event (via theprocessor(s) and/or remote server), the images showing an insuredproperty and/or personal items before, during, and after the weatherevent; (3) determining (via the processor(s) and/or remote server) thatthere are two or more potential nature-related causes-of-loss (such aswind, water, surge, waves, flooding, etc.); (4) assigning (via theprocessor(s) and/or remote server) a percentage of the damage to theinsured property and/or personal belongings to each nature-relatedcause-of-loss; (5) automatically generating (via the processor(s) and/orremote server) a proposed insurance claim (and/or automaticallyadjusting an insurance policy, premium, and/or rating) based upon theassigned percentage of the damage for each nature-related COL; (6)remotely directing and/or controlling (via the processor(s) and/orremote server) a presentation of the proposed insurance claims to thehomeowner on a display screen for their review, modification, and/orapproval; and/or (7) receiving and/or accepting approval of, and/ormodifications to, the proposed insurance claim from the homeowner viawireless communication (sent from a mobile or other communication deviceassociated with the homeowner to the local processor(s) and/or remoteserver) to facilitate initiating handling/processing of the proposedinsurance claim by the insurance provider. The method may includeadditional, fewer, or alternate actions, including those discussedelsewhere herein.

The first nature-related cause-of-loss may be water damage (such ascaused by rain, waves, surge, flooding, free flowing water, etc.), and asecond nature-related cause-of-loss may be wind damage. The firstnature-related cause-of-loss (water) may lead to the secondnature-related cause-of-loss (wind) during a weather event, or viceversa.

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method of generating oradjusting an insurance policy, premium, and/or claim may be provided.The method may include (a) identifying, via one or more processorsand/or a remote server (such as one or more processors associated with asmart home controller, or one or more remote processors or a serverassociated with an insurance provider), a first cause of damage (e.g.,wind, gusts, water, rain, surge, waves, flooding, thunderstorm, tornado,hurricane, fire, etc.) and/or a first exterior breach in a first sectionof an insured property created by a weather event; (b) identifying, viathe processor(s) and/or remote server, a second cause of damage and/or asecond exterior breach in a second section of the insured propertycreated by the weather event; (c) estimating, via the processor(s)and/or remote server, a total amount of loss or damage to the insuredproperty and/or personal belongings caused by both the first and secondcauses of damage; (d) assigning, via the processor(s) and/or remoteserver, a first portion of the total amount of loss or damage to theinsured property and/or personal belongings to the first cause ofdamage, and a second portion of the total amount of loss or damage tothe insured property and/or personal belongings to the second cause ofdamage; (e) adjusting, via the processor(s) and/or remote server, aninsurance policy, premium, and/or claim based upon the first and/orsecond portion of the total amount of loss or damage to the insuredproperty and/or personal belongings assigned to the first and/or secondcauses of damage; (f) directing and/or controlling the presentation of(via the processor(s) and/or remote server) the adjusted insurancepolicy, premium, and/or claim on a display, such as a display of amobile device, associated with a homeowner for their review, approval,and/or modification; and/or (g) receiving and/or accepting (at theprocessor(s) and/or remote server via wireless communication or datatransmission with the mobile device) an insurance policy, premium,and/or claim that is approved and/or modified by the homeowner forautomatic and/or manual processing and/or handling by an insuranceprovider associated with the homeowner. The method may includeadditional, fewer, or alternate actions, including those discussedelsewhere herein.

The first cause of damage may be water-related, and may lead to a secondcause of damage, which may be wind-related. Alternatively, the firstcause of damage may be wind-related, and the first cause of damage maylead to the water-related second cause of damage. Additionally, thefirst and second sections of the insured property may be (1) differentor separated, and/or (2) identical, or approximately or substantiallyidentical (or the same).

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method of generating oradjusting an insurance policy, premium, and/or claim may be provided.The method may include: (i) determining, via one or more processorsand/or a remote server (such as one or more processors associated with asmart home controller, or one or more remote processors or a serverassociated with an insurance provider), an insured property (or an areathereof) where wind and water has caused and/or entered through anexterior breach of the insured property (windows, basement, doors, roof,walls, etc.), the wind and water directly or indirectly causing damageto the insured property and/or personal property therein; (ii)analyzing, via the processor(s) and/or remote server, audio, visualand/or other data recorded before, during, and/or after a weather eventcaused the exterior breach of the insured property to determine whetherthe exterior breach was primarily, solely, or initially caused by windor water (or if the primary, sole, or initial cause of the exteriorbreach was from another source); (iii) generating, adjusting, and/orupdating (via the processor(s) and/or remote server), an insurancepolicy, premium, and/or claim based upon what (primarily, solely, orinitially) caused the exterior breach to the insured property—i.e.,whether the exterior breach was directly or indirectly caused by wind,water, or other causes; (iv) directing and/or controlling (via theprocessor(s) and/or remote server) the presentation of the insurancepolicy, premium, and/or claim generated, adjusted, and/or updated to ahomeowner on a display (such as a display associated with a computingdevice and/or a mobile device) for review, approval, and/ormodification; and/or (v) receiving and/or accepting (via theprocessor(s) and/or remote server) the approval and/or modification ofthe insurance policy, premium, and/or claim submitted by the homeowner(such as via wireless communication or data transmission sent from thehomeowner's mobile device to the processor(s) and/or remote server) tofacilitate automatically and/or manually processing the insurancepolicy, premium, and/or claim by the insurance provider. The method mayinclude additional, fewer, or alternate actions, including thosediscussed elsewhere herein.

IX. Exemplary Assignment of Damage Method

In one aspect, a computer-implemented method of determining a cause ofdamage to a property may be provided. The property may be populated witha plurality of devices on the property and each of the plurality ofdevices may be configured to monitor various conditions associated withthe property. The method may include (1) automatically generating, byone or more processors, a time-sequence of events for aninsurance-related event based upon data recorded by the plurality ofdevices before, during, and/or after the insurance-related event; (2)identifying from the time-sequence of events, by the one or moreprocessors, a first cause of loss and a second cause of loss associatedwith the insurance-related event; (3) analyzing, by the one or moreprocessors, the recorded data to estimate an overall amount of damagecaused by the insurance-related event; (4) based upon the time-sequenceof events, assigning, by the one or more processors, (i) a first portionof the overall amount of damage to the first cause of loss and/or (ii) asecond portion of the overall amount of damage to the second cause ofloss; and/or (5) automatically generating, by the one or moreprocessors, a proposed insurance claim based upon the assignment ofloss. The method may include additional, less, or alternate actions,including that discussed elsewhere herein.

For instance, each of the first and second causes of loss may include atleast one of water damage, wind damage, fire damage, earthquake damage,and/or a breach of structural integrity. The data recorded by theplurality of devices may include at least one of time-stamped audiodata, status data, visual data captured on the property, and/or visualdata captured above the property by an airborne sensor.

Assigning the first portion and the second portion may include (1)determining, by the one or more processors, whether the first cause ofloss is (i) a primary cause of loss that led to a secondary cause ofloss and/or (ii) a secondary cause of loss that occurred due to theprimary cause of loss; and/or (2) when the first cause of loss is theprimary cause of loss, assigning, by the one or more processors, (i) alarger portion of the overall amount of damage to the first cause ofloss and/or (ii) a smaller portion of the overall amount of damage tothe second cause of loss, and/or when the first cause of loss is thesecondary cause of loss, assigning, by the one or more processors, (i) asmaller portion of the overall amount of damage to the first cause ofloss and/or (ii) a larger portion of the overall amount of damage to thesecond cause of loss.

Each of the first portion and the second portion of the overall damagemay include at least one of a percentage of the overall amount of damageto the property and/or a dollar amount of the overall amount of damage.Generating the proposed insurance claim may include prepopulating, bythe one or more processors, the proposed insurance claim with theoverall amount of damage, the first and second causes of loss, and/orthe first and second portions of damage respectively associated withfirst and second causes of loss.

The method may further include (1) transmitting, via a communicationnetwork, the proposed insurance claim to an individual associated withthe property; (2) receiving, via the communication network, from theindividual at least one of an acceptance of the proposed insurance claimand/or a modification to the proposed insurance claim; and/or (3)verifying, by the one or more processers, that the modification to theproposed insurance claim is consistent with the time-sequence of events.

X. Exemplary Assignment of Damage System

In one aspect, a system for determining a cause of damage to a propertymay be provided. The property may be populated with a plurality ofdevices on the property and each of the plurality of devices may beconfigured to monitor various conditions associated with the property.The system may include (i) a communication module adapted to communicatedata; (ii) a memory adapted to store non-transitory computer executableinstructions; and/or (iii) one or more processors adapted to interfacewith the communication module. The one or more processors may beconfigured to execute the non-transitory computer executableinstructions to cause the one or more processors to (1) automaticallygenerate, by the one or more processors, a time-sequence of events foran insurance-related event based upon data recorded by the plurality ofdevices before, during, and/or after the insurance-related event; (2)identify from the time-sequence of events, by the one or moreprocessors, a first cause of loss and a second cause of loss associatedwith the insurance-related event; (3) analyze, by the one or moreprocessors, the recorded data to estimate an overall amount of damagecaused by the insurance-related event; (4) based upon the time-sequenceof events, assign, by the one or more processors, (i) a first portion ofthe overall amount of damage to the first cause of loss and/or (ii) asecond portion of the overall amount of damage to the second cause ofloss; and/or (5) automatically generate, by the one or more processors,a proposed insurance claim based upon the assignment of loss. The systemand processors may include additional, less, or alternate functionality,including that discussed elsewhere herein.

For instance, each of the first and second causes of loss may include atleast one of water damage, wind damage, fire damage, earthquake damage,and/or a breach of structural integrity. The data recorded by theplurality of devices may include at least one of time-stamped audiodata, status data, visual data captured on the property, or visual datacaptured above the property by an airborne sensor.

To assign the first portion and the second portion of the overalldamage, the one or more processors may be further configured to executethe non-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the one ormore processors to (1) determine, by the one or more processors, whetherthe first cause of loss is (i) a primary cause of loss that led to asecondary cause of loss and/or (ii) a secondary cause of loss thatoccurred due to the primary cause of loss; and/or (2) when the firstcause of loss is the primary cause of loss, assign, by the one or moreprocessors, (i) a larger portion of the overall amount of damage to thefirst cause of loss and/or (ii) a smaller portion of the overall amountof damage to the second cause of loss, and/or when the first cause ofloss is the secondary cause of loss, assign, by the one or moreprocessors, (i) a smaller portion of the overall amount of damage to thefirst cause of loss and/or (ii) a larger portion of the overall amountof damage to the second cause of loss.

Each of the first portion and the second portion of the overall damagemay include at least one of a percentage of the overall amount of damageto the property and/or a dollar amount of the overall amount of damage.To generate the proposed insurance claim, the one or more processors maybe further configured to execute the non-transitory computer executableinstructions to cause the one or more processors to prepopulate, by theone or more processors, the proposed insurance claim with the overallamount of damage, the first and second causes of loss, and/or the firstand second portions of damage respectively associated with first andsecond causes of loss.

The communication module may be configured to transmit the proposedinsurance claim to an individual associated with the property; and/orreceive from the individual at least one of an acceptance of theproposed insurance claim and/or a modification to the proposed insuranceclaim. The one or more processors may be further configured to executethe non-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the one ormore processors to verify, by the one or more processers, that themodification to the proposed insurance claim is consistent with thetime-sequence of events.

XI. Exemplary Computer-Readable Medium for Assignment of Damage

In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storingprocessor-executable instructions may be provided. When executed, theinstructions may cause one or more processors to (1) automaticallygenerate, by the one or more processors, a time-sequence of events foran insurance-related event based upon data recorded by the plurality ofdevices before, during, and/or after the insurance-related event; (2)identify from the time-sequence of events, by the one or moreprocessors, a first cause of loss and a second cause of loss associatedwith the insurance-related event; (3) analyze, by the one or moreprocessors, the recorded data to estimate an overall amount of damagecaused by the insurance-related event; (4) based upon the time-sequenceof events, assign, by the one or more processors, (i) a first portion ofthe overall amount of damage to the first cause of loss and/or (ii) asecond portion of the overall amount of damage to the second cause ofloss; and/or (5) automatically generate, by the one or more processors,a proposed insurance claim based upon the assignment of loss. Theinstructions may include additional, less, or alternate functionality,including that discussed elsewhere herein.

For instance, to assign the first portion and the second portion of theoverall damage, the instructions, when executed, may further cause theone or more processors to (1) determine, by the one or more processors,whether the first cause of loss is (i) a primary cause of loss that ledto a secondary cause of loss and/or (ii) a secondary cause of loss thatoccurred due to the primary cause of loss; and/or (2) when the firstcause of loss is the primary cause of loss, assign, by the one or moreprocessors, (i) a larger portion of the overall amount of damage to thefirst cause of loss and/or (ii) a smaller portion of the overall amountof damage to the second cause of loss, and/or when the first cause ofloss is the secondary cause of loss, assign, by the one or moreprocessors, (i) a smaller portion of the overall amount of damage to thefirst cause of loss and/or (ii) a larger portion of the overall amountof damage to the second cause of loss.

To generate the proposed insurance claim, the instructions, whenexecuted, may cause the one or more processors to prepopulate, by theone or more processors, the proposed insurance claim with the overallamount of damage, the first and second causes of loss, and/or the firstand second portions of damage respectively associated with first andsecond causes of loss. The instructions, when executed, may furthercause the one or more processors to transmit, via a communicationnetwork, the proposed insurance claim to an individual associated withthe property; and/or receive, via a communication network, from theindividual at least one of an acceptance of the proposed insurance claimand/or a modification to the proposed insurance claim.

XII. Exemplary Smart Home Controller

FIG. 9 illustrates a diagram of an exemplary smart home controller 920(such as the smart home controller 120 as discussed with respect to FIG.1 ) in which the functionalities as discussed herein may be implemented.It should be appreciated that the smart home controller 920 may beassociated with a property, as discussed herein.

The smart home controller 920 may include a processor 922 as well as amemory 978. The memory 978 may store an operating system 979 capable offacilitating the functionalities as described herein. The smart homecontroller 920 may also store a set of applications 975 (i.e., machinereadable instructions). For example, one of the set of applications 975may be an event monitor routine 984 configured detect when aninsurance-related event commences and terminated. It should beappreciated that other applications are envisioned.

The processor 922 may interface with the memory 978 to execute theoperating system 979 and the set of applications 975. According to someembodiments, the memory 978 may also include operational history data980 that may include time-stamped audio, visual and other dataassociated with detecting damage to the property. The event monitorroutine 984 may access the operational history 980 to associate the datastored in the operational history memory 980 as being recorded before,during, or after an insurance-related event. The memory 978 may includeone or more forms of volatile and/or non-volatile, fixed and/orremovable memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), electronicprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM), random access memory (RAM),erasable electronic programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and/or otherhard drives, flash memory, MicroSD cards, and others.

The smart home controller 920 may further include a communication module977 configured to communicate data via one or more networks 915.Networks 915 may include both a local network for communicating betweendevices on or proximate to the property and a remote network forcommunicating between the property and external parties. According tosome embodiments, the communication module 977 may include one or moretransceivers (e.g., WWAN, WLAN, and/or WPAN transceivers) functioning inaccordance with IEEE standards, 3GPP standards, or other standards, andconfigured to receive and transmit data via one or more external ports976. In some embodiments, the communication module 977 may includeseparate transceivers configured to interact with the local and remotenetworks separately. The smart home controller 920 may further include auser interface 981 configured to present information to a user and/orreceive inputs from the user. As shown in FIG. 9 , the user interface981 may include a display screen 982 and I/O components 983 (e.g.,ports, capacitive or resistive touch sensitive input panels, keys,buttons, lights, LEDs, speakers, microphones). According to the presentembodiments, the user may access the smart home controller 920 via theuser interface 981 to access audio, visual, or other data associatedwith the property and/or perform other functions. In some embodiments,the smart home controller 920 may perform the functionalities asdiscussed herein as part of a “cloud” network or may otherwisecommunicate with other hardware or software components within the cloudto send, retrieve, or otherwise analyze data.

In general, a computer program product in accordance with an embodimentmay include a computer usable storage medium (e.g., standard randomaccess memory (RAM), an optical disc, a universal serial bus (USB)drive, or the like) having computer-readable program code embodiedtherein, wherein the computer-readable program code is adapted to beexecuted by the processor 922 (e.g., working in connection with theoperating system 979) to facilitate the functions as described herein.In this regard, the program code may be implemented in any desiredlanguage, and may be implemented as machine code, assembly code, bytecode, interpretable source code or the like (e.g., via Python, C, C++,Java, Actionscript, Objective-C, Javascript, CSS, XML). In someembodiments, the computer program product may be part of a cloud networkof resources.

XIII. Additional Considerations

As used herein, the term “smart” may refer to devices, sensors orappliances located inside, or proximate to, a property with the abilityto remotely communicate information about the status of the device,sensor, or appliance and/or receive instructions that control theoperation of the device, sensor, or appliance. For example, a smartthermostat may be able to remotely communicate the current temperatureof the home and receive instructions to adjust the temperature to a newlevel. As another example, a smart water tank may be able to remotelycommunicate the level water contained therein and receive instructionsto restrict the flow of water leaving the tank. In contrast, “dumb”devices, sensors, or appliances located inside, or proximate to, aproperty require manual control. Referring again to the thermostatexample, to adjust the temperature on a “dumb” thermostat, a personwould have to manually interact with the thermostat. As such, a personis unable to use a communication network to remotely adjust a “dumb”device, sensor, or appliance.

For simplicity's sake, a “smart device” shall be used herein to refer toany of a smart device, sensor, appliance, and/or other smart equipmentthat is disposed on or proximate to a property. In embodiments in whichan appliance and a sensor external to the particular appliance areassociated with each other, “smart device” may refer to both theexternal sensors and the appliance collectively. Some examples ofdevices that may be “smart devices” are, without limitation, valves,piping, clothes washers/dryers, dish washers, refrigerators, sprinklersystems, toilets, showers, sinks, soil monitors, doors, locks, windows,shutters, ovens, grills, fire places, furnaces, lighting, sump pumps,security cameras, and alarm systems. Similarly, an individual associatedwith the property shall be referred to as the “homeowner”, but it isalso envisioned that the individual is a family member of the homeowner,a person renting/subletting the property, a person living or working onthe property, a neighbor of the property, or any other individual thatmay have an interest in determining a cause of loss for damage to theproperty.

Further, any reference to “home” is meant to be exemplary and notlimiting. The systems and methods described herein may be applied to anyproperty, such as offices, farms, lots, parks, and/or other types ofproperties or buildings. Accordingly, “homeowner” may be usedinterchangeably with “property owner.” As used herein, “property” mayalso refer to any buildings, belongings and/or equipment disposed on theproperty itself.

Although the following text sets forth a detailed description ofnumerous different embodiments, it should be understood that the legalscope of the invention is defined by the words of the claims set forthat the end of this patent. The detailed description is to be construedas exemplary only and does not describe every possible embodiment, asdescribing every possible embodiment would be impractical, if notimpossible. One could implement numerous alternate embodiments, usingeither current technology or technology developed after the filing dateof this patent, which would still fall within the scope of the claims.

Throughout this specification, plural instances may implementcomponents, operations, or structures described as a single instance.Although individual operations of one or more methods are illustratedand described as separate operations, one or more of the individualoperations may be performed concurrently, and nothing requires that theoperations be performed in the order illustrated. Structures andfunctionality presented as separate components in example configurationsmay be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly,structures and functionality presented as a single component may beimplemented as separate components. These and other variations,modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of thesubject matter herein.

Additionally, certain embodiments are described herein as includinglogic or a number of routines, subroutines, applications, orinstructions. These may constitute either software (e.g., code embodiedon a non-transitory, machine-readable medium) or hardware. In hardware,the routines, etc., are tangible units capable of performing certainoperations and may be configured or arranged in a certain manner. Inexample embodiments, one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone,client or server computer system) or one or more hardware modules of acomputer system (e.g., a processor or a group of processors) may beconfigured by software (e.g., an application or application portion) asa hardware module that operates to perform certain operations asdescribed herein.

In various embodiments, a hardware module may be implementedmechanically or electronically. For example, a hardware module maycomprise dedicated circuitry or logic that is permanently configured(e.g., as a special-purpose processor, such as a field programmable gatearray (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) toperform certain operations. A hardware module may also compriseprogrammable logic or circuitry (e.g., as encompassed within ageneral-purpose processor or other programmable processor) that istemporarily configured by software to perform certain operations. Itwill be appreciated that the decision to implement a hardware modulemechanically, in dedicated and permanently configured circuitry, or intemporarily configured circuitry (e.g., configured by software) may bedriven by cost and time considerations.

Accordingly, the term “hardware module” should be understood toencompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physicallyconstructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarilyconfigured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or toperform certain operations described herein. Considering embodiments inwhich hardware modules are temporarily configured (e.g., programmed),each of the hardware modules need not be configured or instantiated atany one instance in time. For example, where the hardware modulescomprise a general-purpose processor configured using software, thegeneral-purpose processor may be configured as respective differenthardware modules at different times. Software may accordingly configurea processor, for example, to constitute a particular hardware module atone instance of time and to constitute a different hardware module at adifferent instance of time.

Hardware modules may provide information to, and receive informationfrom, other hardware modules. Accordingly, the described hardwaremodules may be regarded as being communicatively coupled. Where multipleof such hardware modules exist contemporaneously, communications may beachieved through signal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuitsand buses) that connect the hardware modules. In embodiments in whichmultiple hardware modules are configured or instantiated at differenttimes, communications between such hardware modules may be achieved, forexample, through the storage and retrieval of information in memorystructures to which the multiple hardware modules have access. Forexample, one hardware module may perform an operation and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it iscommunicatively coupled. A further hardware module may then, at a latertime, access the memory device to retrieve and process the storedoutput. Hardware modules may also initiate communications with input oroutput devices, and may operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation).

The various operations of example methods described herein may beperformed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implemented modulesthat operate to perform one or more operations or functions. The modulesreferred to herein may, in some example embodiments, compriseprocessor-implemented modules.

Similarly, the methods or routines described herein may be at leastpartially processor-implemented. For example, at least some of theoperations of a method may be performed by one or more processors orprocessor-implemented hardware modules. The performance of certain ofthe operations may be distributed among the one or more processors, notonly residing within a single machine, but deployed across a number ofmachines. In some example embodiments, the processor or processors maybe located in a single location (e.g., within a home environment, anoffice environment, or as a server farm), while in other embodiments theprocessors may be distributed across a number of locations.

The performance of certain of the operations may be distributed amongthe one or more processors, not only residing within a single machine,but deployed across a number of machines. In some example embodiments,the one or more processors or processor-implemented modules may belocated in a single geographic location (e.g., within a homeenvironment, an office environment, or a server farm). In other exampleembodiments, the one or more processors or processor-implemented modulesmay be distributed across a number of geographic locations.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, discussions herein using wordssuch as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,”“presenting,” “displaying,” or the like may refer to actions orprocesses of a machine (e.g., a computer) that manipulates or transformsdata represented as physical (e.g., electronic, magnetic, or optical)quantities within one or more memories (e.g., volatile memory,non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof), registers, or othermachine components that receive, store, transmit, or displayinformation.

As used herein any reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”means that a particular element, feature, structure, or characteristicdescribed in connection with the embodiment is included in at least oneembodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in variousplaces in the specification are not necessarily all referring to thesame embodiment.

The terms “insurer,” “insuring party,” and “insurance provider” are usedinterchangeably herein to generally refer to a party or entity (e.g., abusiness or other organizational entity) that provides insuranceproducts, e.g., by offering and issuing insurance policies. Typically,but not necessarily, an insurance provider may be an insurance company.

Although the embodiments discussed herein relate to home or personalproperty insurance policies, it should be appreciated that an insuranceprovider may offer or provide one or more different types of insurancepolicies. Other types of insurance policies may include, for example,condominium owner insurance, renter's insurance, life insurance (e.g.,whole-life, universal, variable, term), health insurance, disabilityinsurance, long-term care insurance, annuities, business insurance(e.g., property, liability, commercial auto, workers compensation,professional and specialty liability, inland marine and mobile property,surety and fidelity bonds), automobile insurance, boat insurance,insurance for catastrophic events such as flood, fire, volcano damageand the like, motorcycle insurance, farm and ranch insurance, personalliability insurance, personal umbrella insurance, community organizationinsurance (e.g., for associations, religious organizations,cooperatives), and other types of insurance products. In embodiments asdescribed herein, the insurance providers process claims related toinsurance policies that cover one or more properties (e.g., homes,automobiles, personal property), although processing other insurancepolicies is also envisioned.

The terms “insured,” “insured party,” “policyholder,” “customer,”“claimant,” and “potential claimant” are used interchangeably herein torefer to a person, party, or entity (e.g., a business or otherorganizational entity) that is covered by the insurance policy, e.g.,whose insured article or entity (e.g., property, life, health, auto,home, business) is covered by the policy. A “guarantor,” as used herein,generally refers to a person, party or entity that is responsible forpayment of the insurance premiums. The guarantor may or may not be thesame party as the insured, such as in situations when a guarantor haspower of attorney for the insured. An “annuitant,” as referred toherein, generally refers to a person, party or entity that is entitledto receive benefits from an annuity insurance product offered by theinsuring party. The annuitant may or may not be the same party as theguarantor.

As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,”“including,” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof, areintended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process,method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is notnecessarily limited to only those elements but may include otherelements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method,article, or apparatus. Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary,“or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example,a condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following: A is true(or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or notpresent) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (orpresent).

In addition, use of the “a” or “an” are employed to describe elementsand components of the embodiments herein. This is done merely forconvenience and to give a general sense of the description. Thisdescription, and the claims that follow, should be read to include oneor at least one and the singular also includes the plural unless it isobvious that it is meant otherwise.

This detailed description is to be construed as examples and does notdescribe every possible embodiment, as describing every possibleembodiment would be impractical, if not impossible. One could implementnumerous alternate embodiments, using either current technology ortechnology developed after the filing date of this application.

What is claimed:
 1. A computer-implemented method of determining a causeof damage to a property populated with a plurality of smart devices onthe property, each of the plurality of smart devices configured tomonitor various conditions associated with the property, the methodcomprising: automatically generating, by one or more processors, atime-sequence of events based upon sensor data recorded by the pluralityof smart devices before, during, and after an insurance-related event;identifying from the time-sequence of events, by the one or moreprocessors, a first cause of loss and a second cause of loss associatedwith the insurance-related event; based upon the time-sequence ofevents, assigning, by the one or more processors, (i) a first portion ofdamage to the first cause of loss, and (ii) a second portion of damageto the second cause of loss, wherein each of the first portion and thesecond portion of damage comprises (i) damage to the property caused bythe insurance-related event, and (ii) at least one of water damage, winddamage, fire damage, earthquake damage, or a breach of structuralintegrity; and automatically generating, by the one or more processors,a proposed insurance claim based upon the assignment of the firstportion of damage to the first cause of loss, and the second portion ofdamage to the second cause of loss.
 2. The computer-implemented methodof claim 1, wherein the sensor data recorded by the plurality of smartdevices comprises at least one of: time-stamped audio data, status data,or visual data captured on the property.
 3. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, wherein the sensor data recorded by the plurality ofsmart devices comprises visual data captured above the property by anairborne sensor.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, whereinassigning the first portion and the second portion comprises:determining, by the one or more processors, whether the first cause ofloss is (i) a primary cause of loss that led to a secondary cause ofloss, or (ii) a secondary cause of loss that occurred due to the primarycause of loss.
 5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, whereingenerating the proposed insurance claim comprises: pre-populating, bythe one or more processors, the proposed insurance claim with the firstand second causes of loss, and the first and second portions of damagerespectively associated with first and second causes of loss.
 6. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:transmitting, via a communication network, the proposed insurance claimto an individual associated with the property; and receiving, via thecommunication network, from the individual at least one of an acceptanceof the proposed insurance claim or a modification to the proposedinsurance claim.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, furthercomprising: verifying, by the one or more processors, that themodification to the proposed insurance claim is consistent with thetime-sequence of events.
 8. A computer system for determining a cause ofdamage to a property populated with a plurality of smart devices on theproperty, each of the plurality of smart devices configured to monitorvarious conditions associated with the property, the system comprising:one or more transceivers adapted to communicate data; a memory adaptedto store non-transitory computer executable instructions; and one ormore processors adapted to interface with the one or more transceivers,wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute thenon-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the one or moreprocessors to: automatically generate, by the one or more processors, atime-sequence of events for an insurance-related event based upon sensordata recorded by the plurality of smart devices before, during, andafter the insurance-related event; identify from the time-sequence ofevents, by the one or more processors, a first cause of loss and asecond cause of loss associated with the insurance-related event; basedupon the time-sequence of events, assign, by the one or more processors,(i) a first portion of damage to the first cause of loss, and (ii) asecond portion of damage to the second cause of loss, wherein each ofthe first portion and the second portion of damage comprises (i) damageto the property caused by the insurance-related event, and (ii) at leastone of water damage, wind damage, fire damage, earthquake damage, or abreach of structural integrity; and automatically generate, by the oneor more processors, a proposed insurance claim based upon the assignmentof the first portion of damage to the first cause of loss, and thesecond portion of damage to the second cause of loss.
 9. The computersystem of claim 8, wherein the sensor data recorded by the plurality ofsmart devices comprises at least one of: time-stamped audio data, statusdata, or visual data captured on the property.
 10. The computer systemof claim 8, wherein the sensor data recorded by the plurality of smartdevices comprises visual data captured above the property by an airbornesensor.
 11. The computer system of claim 8, wherein to assign the firstportion and the second portion of damage, the one or more processors arefurther configured to execute the non-transitory computer executableinstructions to cause the one or more processors to: determine, by theone or more processors, whether the first cause of loss is (i) a primarycause of loss that led to a secondary cause of loss, or (ii) a secondarycause of loss that occurred due to the primary cause of loss.
 12. Thecomputer system of claim 8, wherein to generate the proposed insuranceclaim, the one or more processors are further configured to execute thenon-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the one or moreprocessors to: pre-populate, by the one or more processors, the proposedinsurance claim with the first and second causes of loss, and the firstand second portions of damage respectively associated with first andsecond causes of loss.
 13. The computer system of claim 8, wherein theone or more transceivers are further configured to: transmit theproposed insurance claim to an individual associated with the property;and receive from the individual at least one of an acceptance of theproposed insurance claim or a modification to the proposed insuranceclaim.
 14. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the one or moreprocessors are further configured to execute the non-transitory computerexecutable instructions to cause the one or more processors to: verify,by the one or more processors, that the modification to the proposedinsurance claim is consistent with the time-sequence of events.
 15. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium storingcomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or moreprocessors, cause the one or more processors to: automatically generatea time-sequence of events for an insurance-related event based uponsensor data recorded by a plurality of smart devices before, during, andafter the insurance-related event, wherein the plurality of smartdevices are disposed on a property and configured to monitor variousconditions associated with the property; identify from the time-sequenceof events a first cause of loss and a second cause of loss associatedwith the insurance-related event; based upon the time-sequence ofevents, assign (i) a first portion of damage to the first cause of loss,and (ii) a second portion of damage to the second cause of loss, whereineach of the first portion and the second portion of damage comprises (i)damage to the property caused by the insurance-related event, and (ii)at least one of water damage, wind damage, fire damage, earthquakedamage, or a breach of structural integrity; and automatically generatea proposed insurance claim based upon the assignment of the firstportion of damage to the first cause of loss, and the second portion ofdamage to the second cause of loss.
 16. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the sensor data recordedby the plurality of smart devices comprises at least one of:time-stamped audio data, status data, or visual data captured on theproperty.
 17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15,wherein the sensor data recorded by the plurality of smart devicescomprises visual data captured above the property by an airborne sensor.18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein togenerate the proposed insurance claim, the instructions, when executed,cause the one or more processors to: pre-populate the proposed insuranceclaim with the first and second causes of loss, and the first and secondportions of damage respectively associated with first and second causesof loss.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15,wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the one or moreprocessors to: transmit the proposed insurance claim to an individualassociated with the property; and receive from the individual at leastone of an acceptance of the proposed insurance claim or a modificationto the proposed insurance claim.
 20. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the instructions, whenexecuted, cause the one or more processors to: verify that themodification to the proposed insurance claim is consistent with thetime-sequence of events.